AFL grand final border hopper Hayden Burbank makes guilty plea in Darwin court

A Victorian border jumper who sneaked into Perth through the Territory to watch the 2021 AFL grand final has pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court.

A VICTORIAN border jumper who sneaked into Perth through the Territory to watch the 2021 AFL grand final has pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court.

Prominent Melbourne restaurateur Hayden Burbank pleaded guilty to four charges including obtaining benefit by deception.

He and 39-year-old financial planner Mark Babbage were found to have breached Western Australia’s strict border rules to attend the grand final on September 25.

To do so they were found to have falsified legal documents providing a falsified NT driver’s licence, an ANZ bank statement showing an NT address and an NT residential tenancy agreement.

However, they had only left Melbourne for Darwin on September 14 and then flew for Perth on September 22, despite having needed to be in the NT for 14 days to clear border restrictions.

At the time Victoria was classified as a high risk zone by WA health directions.

The avid Melbourne Demons supporters were snapped mingling with players in the changing rooms following the event.

They were later arrested on September 28 and sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment with seven months suspended.

The pair are now back in Melbourne so Burbank appeared before the Darwin Local Court via video link where he pleaded guilty to the charges of contravention of emergency declaration, giving misleading information, knowingly utter a forged document and obtaining benefit by a deception.

Hayden Burbank is seen in the Melbourne rooms mingling courtesy Channel 7

For the first two charges judge Alan Woodcock sentenced Burbank to a 12 month good behaviour bond and for the other two charges he was given a six month jail sentence suspended for 12 months.

He was represented by lawyer Peter Maley who argued Burbank was a man of previous good character.

“He has always been a hardworking man, there is nothing before the court that would suggest anything but that,” Mr Maley said. “Since leaving prison in Western Australia he has returned home and has done his best to reintegrate, is receiving ongoing counselling and is well supported by family and friends.”

Judge Alan Woodcock called the offence serious but weighed his sentencing against Burbank’s previous good character and already served jail time. “This was sophisticated offending which was exceedingly selfish and thoughtless and done to the extreme risk of the community,” Mr Woodcock said. “He is however of previous good character and has already received imprisonment for related offending actions.”

Babbage did not appear before the court with his case adjourned until March 3.